10 Tips for assisting our kids in navigating COVID-19

Guidelines prepared by Dr Sheri Davimes, a social worker in private practice specializing in anxiety in children and adults.

1. Hygiene first- take this as an opportunity to educate children on the importance of good hygiene habits. Washing hands when coming in the house and always before eating

2. Sharing is caring- except when you are sick. If adults or children are sick they need to stay home. Explain to your children that the more sick people stay at home, the quicker we contain the virus.

3. Provide information – give children age appropriate information that is fact driven rather than rumour driven. There are a lot of factual platforms that provide us with daily updates on protocols. Circulating unofficial social media posts only creates fear and not talking about it at all allows children to be given misinformation by friends and social media sources

4. Talk about other things- COVID- 19 is the topic of most conversations right now, however most children and especially anxious children, pick up bits and pieces of adult conversation and anxiety quietly grows. Be mindful of what is said in front of kids and limit TV and social media exposure

5. Provide routine- Children (and adults) do best with routine! Even though they are not at

school try and set up a routine where they get up at a certain time, have enough outdoor time, limited screen-time and lots of creative time.

6. Put a label to their feelings- children often cannot connect their feelings to their experiences. Help them think about what Corvid19 makes them feel and what their worries about this are. Don’t deny or try to rationalize their feelings it will only make them feel less understood.

7. Acknowledge difficult feelings and try to empower children by encouraging them to think of things that make them feel better when they are feeling anxious. This is an opportunity to help children develop life skills to manage anxious feelings in general. Examples of this are helping children identify who they can talk to when they feel scared, meditation, journal writing and exercise

8. Increase family time- use this time to enhance family bonds. Play board games, cook together and involve children in household chores. Lots of time in close proximity can cause irritation and fights. Model for children the think before you act/speak concept and teach them walk away if they are going to say something mean.

9. Feeling anxious is not an excuse to be mean- when we feel fear we often blame in order to regain a sense of control. More than ever we are needing to stand together as a community and help one another rather than blaming and shaming. Teach children that being kind is also a way of regaining control- this teaching can only be done through modelling.

10. Lastly, remember that your children will take their lead from you. If you are demonstrating calm and rational thinking, they are more likely to do the same. Provide a space where children can express their fears and concerns without them being minimized or fuelled.

If you have any questions for Professor Schoub, please submit them here.